


Hearing Damage

by Spellfire01



Series: Sweater Weather [1]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, I wrote this when I was mostly asleep, Mental Health Issues, Multi, angst with fluff, cuddle piles, gaming marathons, hearing damage, hearing over-sensitivity, hearing under-sentitivity, probably very ooc but w/e, the washington twins are alive, undiagnosed hearing damage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 12:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4919098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spellfire01/pseuds/Spellfire01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today wasn't a good day.</p><p>Well, it wasn't a bad day, far from it, but it wasn't what Josh would consider a 'good day'. His pills couldn't cure everything, even sitting sandwiched between warm bodies, a screen to focus on and yet more blankets, he could still hear the static. The crackling, drowned-out and too sharp sound waves that pushed against his eardrums had remained.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hearing Damage

**Author's Note:**

> Partly inspired by "Hearing Damage" by Thom Yorke.

Today wasn't a good day.

Well, it wasn't a bad day, far from it, but it wasn't what Josh would consider a 'good day'.

It had started out fairly normal, he woke up to a warm arm slung around his waist under the copious piles of blankets he shared with his boyfriend, Chris' steady breathing almost lulling him back to sleep.

Once Josh had dragged himself out of bed, he had agreed to take a shower and had done so after Chris' second reminder. After breakfast Josh had made sure to take the pills needed to keep his 'over-active imagination' and the terrifying things that came with it at bay, with the childish persuading of multi-coloured m&ms - one for each capsule to take. It was Chris' idea, and it had helped with remembering to take them more that he'd care to admit.

It was a Saturday.

Usually Saturdays were spent with his sisters and the girls visiting his shared apartment for the day but this wasn't a usual Saturday. Today Hannah and Beth were on a double-date, so he had heard, with a boy and a girl they had each met a few weeks prior. It didn't bother him too much, he would get to spend some more quality time with his partners after all, but it was still different.

Once Sam and Ashley had arrived at around noon though, their arms and smiles washed away some of the uneasiness that still resided somewhere in the back of his mind. Chris had insisted on having a gaming day with the twins away, four controllers without having to swap with every round of a game did seem appealing he had admitted and with the promise of beanbag piles and stacks of snacks, it had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.

Now though, he wasn't so sure.

His pills couldn't cure everything, even sitting sandwiched between warm bodies, a screen to focus on and yet more blankets, he could still hear the static. The crackling, drowned-out and too sharp sound waves that pushed against his eardrums had remained. This, despite everything, had still remained an undiagnosed torment that no amount of internet research had solved.

It would come and go. Sometimes it was barely noticeable, other times it had been so sharp and agonizing, he could have sworn sharpened pencils had been forcibly shoved down his ears, the pain spreading to his head and upper jaw like fire to create an unbearable migraine. This time it drowned out the competitive remarks and laughter around him and focused intensely on the tv static, the pressure building with each passing second.

"Hey Josh, you ok bro?" A familiar murmur next to his ear snapped him out of his thoughts, making his controller jump in his hands. He hadn't recalled exactly when he'd stopped playing.

Josh turned slightly to cast glance over at Chris before he nodded out of habit. "Yeah, I'm just taking a break. Unlike yours my thumbs haven't evolved though years of nerdiness to play games for hours on end, Cochise."

Chris huffed out a laugh and opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by Sam, pausing the game and earning a hissed "What- No!" in alarm from Ashley, who according to the score on the screen was currently taking the second ranking.

"Says the one usually taking Ash's place...What's wrong Josh? Did you take your meds today or-" Sam started, cut off by the irritated gritting of Josh's teeth and the sharp nod. God, he despised that question.

"Took them this morning."

"He did, I made sure." Chris added, backing him up.

Neither of the girls seemed satisfied with the answer; pausing, putting down their controllers and turning to face him as well as they could on the oversized pile of beanbags. "So What's wrong?" Ashley chimed in, repeating Sam's previous question with a concerned look in her pretty eyes matching the other's. It took Josh a long moment to answer, the words taking their time to sink into his head over the white noise and cars outside the window. He knew they wouldn't give up unless they pushed him too far, and he wasn't in the mood to argue today. He loosened his grip on his controller and lifted a hand to weakly gesture to an ear. All three looked between each other, a solution already in mind.

"Have you taken any Ibuprofen?" Asked Sam, reaching over to gently pry the controller from his hands and set it on the couch behind them.

Josh shook his head, dismissive. "Doesn't work."

Chris made a soft humming sound, turning Josh's attention back on him. "Want me to turn the tv off now or are you ok to keep going?" He asked, moving to get up anyway. Glancing over to Ashley he could see her expression holding mild disappointment but she didn't comment.

Josh nodded once again, his hand moving to cup one of his ears in a pitiful attempt to block out some of the pressure. Sam shifted, sitting up more and leaning against his side to rest her head on his chest, her arm wrapping itself around his waist like an anchor. Physical contact was one of the only distractions that had seemed to help him though the pain, closing his eyes as a familiar pounding started up at the back of his head.

Just as Josh breathed out a swear and pressed his hand tighter against his ear, another arm found it's way around his waist and a pair of comforting lips pressed against his cheek, Chris unmistakably settling behind him while Ashley reached over Sam and sandwiched her between herself and Josh.

He wasn't sure when the agonizing pounding or over and under-sensitivity started to die down; when their shared breathing could be heard over the wheels of cars but he found himself not wanting to move from the grounding pile they had made.

Maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> A mostly vent fic where I pile my ear problems onto an already problematic fave.  
> Kudos and comments help fuel my motivation but aren't mandatory!
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
